Since mid 1997 more than €171.45 million, £135 million, additional revenue funding has been invested through the health boards in the development of the child welfare and protection services. This has provided for a wide range of developments including alternative care services such as community and family support projects and preventive services. The Government's commitment to tackling the problems of social exclusion in this area was underlined by the launch of the national children's strategy in November 2000 and the passing of the Children Act, 2001.
In January 1998, the Government established the young people at risk programme, the centre piece of which is the young people's facilities and services fund. An allocation of €9.14 million, £7.2 million, was made from this fund to launch the springboard initiative under which originally fourteen projects were established with a further three developed in 2001 and four more planned for 2002. The objective of these projects is to assist children and young people to remain at home, out of trouble and in school by providing a pro-active, inter-agency response to support these young people and their families. The projects provide for the establishment of formal collaborative structures involving relevant public agencies, the voluntary sector and the local community and the identification or establishment of a local centre which will act as a focal point for the delivery of services to children, young people and their families.
The recently published national health strategy proposes a number of actions to expand family support services. These include the refocusing of child welfare budgets over the next seven years to further strengthen and develop safeguarding activities and supportive programmes including springboard projects and other family support initiatives.
